After an arrest, most defendants will face the judge sooner or later. The timing of this hearing, which may be called a bail hearing or an arraignment, varies from place to place. At the hearing, defendants are asked to enter a plea and you have a choice of three pleas. Read on to find out more about entering pleas and what it means to enter a no-contest plea after an arrest.

Three Ways to Plead

It's important to understand that your plea can be changed — nothing is written in stone. That being said, most criminal law attorneys advise their clients to plead not guilty at the initial hearing. It just looks better to go from a not guilty plea to a guilty or no contest plea later on rather than to plead guilty right off the bat.

What Does No Contest Mean?

As you might have guessed, no contest means you will accept a plea without contesting it. But the plea you are accepting is a guilty plea. That means a no-contest plea is no different than a guilty plea, for all practical purposes. However, it might make some defendants feel better about the plea by referring to it as a no-contest plea. That being said, there may a few benefits to a no-contest plea depending on the laws in your state. In some cases, this type of plea allows things to be settled outside of court. Since that saves the court both time and money, you might end up with a more favorable sentence.

Plea Bargains and No Contest Pleas

You might be surprised at how often a case starts out with certain charges and ends up with completely different ones. That is due to two main influencers of case outcomes:

1. You have a lawyer. When you have a private defense lawyer, your case may be worked out behind the scenes. No one wants cases to take up court time when they can be resolved in other ways. Your lawyer will work with the district attorney on a deal that might get the case dismissed if you'll pay court costs. That is one of the unspoken benefits of having a private attorney.
2. Plea bargains are omnipresent in the court system. Your attorney may work out an agreement that has you pleading guilty or no contest to reduced charges or reduced sentencing.

To find out more, speak to a criminal defense lawyer.